256L.17 ASSET REQUIREMENT FOR MINNESOTACARE.

Subdivision 1.Definitions.

(a) "Asset" means cash and other personal property, as well as any real property, that a family or individual owns which has monetary value.

(b) "Homestead" means the home that is owned by, and is the usual residence of, the family or individual, together with the surrounding property which is not separated from the home by intervening property owned by others. Public rights-of-way, such as roads that run through the surrounding property and separate it from the home, will not affect the exemption of the property. "Usual residence" includes the home from which the family or individual is temporarily absent due to illness, employment, or education, or because the home is temporarily not habitable due to casualty or natural disaster.

Subd. 2.Limit on total assets.

(a) Effective July 1, 2002, or upon federal approval, whichever is later, in order to be eligible for the MinnesotaCare program, a household of two or more persons must not own more than $20,000 in total net assets, and a household of one person must not own more than $10,000 in total net assets.

(b) For purposes of this subdivision, assets are determined according to section 256B.056, subdivision 3c, except that workers' compensation settlements received due to a work-related injury shall not be considered.

(c) State-funded MinnesotaCare is not available for applicants or enrollees who are otherwise eligible for medical assistance but fail to verify assets. Enrollees who become eligible for federally funded medical assistance shall be terminated from state-funded MinnesotaCare and transferred to medical assistance.

Subd. 3.Documentation.

(a) The commissioner of human services shall require individuals and families, at the time of application or renewal, to indicate on a form developed by the commissioner whether they satisfy the MinnesotaCare asset requirement.

(b) The commissioner may require individuals and families to provide any information the commissioner determines necessary to verify compliance with the asset requirement, if the commissioner determines that there is reason to believe that an individual or family has assets that exceed the program limit.

Subd. 4.Penalties.

Individuals or families who are found to have knowingly misreported the amount of their assets as described in this section shall be subject to the penalties in section 256.98. The commissioner shall present recommendations on additional penalties to the 1998 legislature.